Access: From Interstate
70 west of Idaho Springs, take Exit 308 and head west on Hwy 40 for 15
miles to Berthoud Pass. Continue north on Hwy 40 for 3 miles to the parking
area/trailhead on the west side of the Highway

Trailhead: UTM NAD83 z13
434120e 4408361n 10,608’

Trail: 1 mile to the Broome
Hut, then another mile to the Mt Nystrom Trail.

View
larger mapJuly 26, 2015On our final day in Winter
Park, we stopped at the Second Creek TH for a final hike, without knowing
anything about the trail. The only thing it seemed to have going for it
was that we had noticed there were always tons of cars parked there. It
is possible that so many people could be gravely mistaken about the beauty
of a place, but it seemed unlikely. So it was that at 9:00 Nolan, Stephanie,
Mike, Mandy, Andra and I were lacing on boots and shouldering daypacks
for a hike up Second Creek.

Mike and Mandy were intent
on fishing, and pulled on their waders. This indicated they didn’t intend
to hike very far, but that was OK. I wasn’t sure how far I’d be hiking
either. It’s a mistake to get too hung up on goals, and I have to remind
myself that often. We all moved slowly up the creek, which is right next
to the trail. I snapped pictures while walking through the trees with Andra.
Mike and Mandy fished. Nolan and Stephanie checked out the creek up ahead.
The creek was beautiful, and the sun filtered through the trees in that
classic Colorado alpine forest way that just never ever gets old.

We moved up the slope in
a loose group, and at some point Andra and I lost track of the others.
We continued up the stream, and then sought out the trail to the north,
whereupon we immediately saw the others nearby. By this point, lowlanders
Steph and Nolan were feeling a bit of altitude pain, and Mike and Mandy
were ready to go no further in their waders. We discussed options, and
agreed on a brief split, whereby Andra, Nolan and I would forge ahead,
while Mike, Mandy and Stephanie would return to the car, fish a little
more, and we’d all meet up for lunch in Idaho Springs.

At a brisk pace, the three
of us continued on up the trail. Spruce and pine lined the trail, yet in
almost no time we were at treeline, where gradually open alpine meadow
began to dominate the view. Tons and tons of flowers carpeted the slopes
as we churned up the gravelly trail towards…who knew what? I was very surprised
when we crested a rise to find a building on the ridge. This is the Broome
Hut, a rentable lodging intended as basecamp for backcountry sports.
Loads of people were hanging around the hut, and I felt like this unique
lodge was the reason behind so many cars at the trailhead.

Andra, Nolan and I continued
on past the hut and followed the trail west up Second Creek to the point
where it diverges from First Creek. This is an oddity: The topo map shows
a creek coming off the ridgline splitting into two streams as it moves
downhill: First Creek and Second Creek. I wish I had known this when I
was hiking so I could find the divergence point and check it out, but it
was only later that I noticed this anomaly. I’m not sure if this is natural
or not. Aerial photos show some obvious ditchworks, and the map shows a
ditch coming off of Second Creek to the south, a ditch we noted on the
hike, as it is very obvious from the trail. There didn’t seem to be any
water flowing through it when we were hiking, however. What I think is
going on is that Second Creek and First Creek are both natural channels
that do not converge nor split, but at some point a ditch was constructed
to divert water from First Creek into Second Creek, probably to enhance
flows down the Berthoud Pass ditch that flows over Berthoud Pass to effectively
transfer water from the western slope to the eastern slope of the divide.
The flow through this diversion ditch between the two natural channels
was so large that USGS mapped the diversion ditch as the natural channel,
rather than correctly showing the source of Second Creek high up on the
ridgeline at 12,000 ft. This is my hypothesis. If I’m wrong, somebody please
email me and explain how.

Nearing 11:00, we had not
reached the obvious ridgeline, though we were painfully close. The trail
switchback up the head of the cirque was plain, and not far away, but we
had agreed to meet the others for lunch in Idaho Springs, and it was time
to turn back if we had any chance of making that appointment. Post-hike
examination of this trail reveals that once it achieves the ridgeline,
the route follows the continental divide to Stanley Peak, Vasquez Peak
and Mt Nystrom. In short order, it tags several 12,000+ peaks and looks
to be an awesome hike. One day….

As it was we had to turn
our backs on the ridgeline and motor on down to the car where we joined
throngs of weekenders attempting to get back to Denver, and thus we spent
over an hour in classic, tortuous I-70 traffic just to reach Idaho Springs
only 15 miles down the canyon. Probably should have just stayed on the
mountain and hiked!